Which of these cities has the biggest hockey interest?
- Thread starter yzerman
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lomiller1
Registered User
- Jan 13, 2015
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jigglysquishy
Registered User
Do you honestly think these cities are bigger hockey centres than Calgary? There are about 10 cities in Canada that are bigger hockey centres than the aforementioned cities.
biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
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I think the biggest thing with Vancouver as a "sports city", is that it seems like it's got a lot of "individual sports" enthusiasts. People who religiously get out and do their biking or skiing or whatever, on their own. So when the various teams aren't good, they kind of get tuned out and ignored. Then on the flip side, when the teams are good...the games sort of become the "event to be seen at". Rather than going "to a hockey game" because it's a hockey game, you end up with a lot of suits there because it's "the event".
Looking at the BC Lions is pretty telling i think. There are times when they're popular, and times when you could honestly forget they even exist as far as Vancouverites are concerned. Even more so than the Canucks, it feels like their fanbase is at the whims of how well they're doing.
I think you also have to account for the simple commuter fatigue with Vancouver. When it comes to having big crazy fanbases participating at and around the arena/stadium, it's a weird situation where the super affluent areas around the arena aren't actually very "populated" with a lot of empty real estate, and just aren't easily accessible for a lot of the fanbase strung out through the whole Fraser valley. People who spend hours and hours every day commuting in nightmarish traffic, are perhaps a bit less inclined to make that multi-hour trek back into downtown to watch the game or be part of the experience watching the game and partying and celebrating around the arena. It promotes a much more private, "i'll just watch it at home" sort of fanbase i think.
Whereas Calgary...getting to the (falling apart) Saddledome or McMahon Stadium or downtown "red mile" or whatever, is really pretty quick and easy. Even from the suburbs/bedroom communities. You don't have the same sort of bridges and tunnels that just completely bottleneck everything. I think that's a big factor in differences between the two cities as "Sports Towns".
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
Are people sleeping on Ottawa or has it really fallen off in hockey interest? It's right in the heart of the most hockey-crazy territory in the world.
Tufted Titmouse
13 Cups.
- Apr 5, 2022
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I lived in Ottawa for 5 years. During those years they were quite good with peak Karlsson, a few deep runs, etc.
The energy around the city paled in comparison to Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Detroit or Calgary.
I just figured it was an intellectual and immigrant heavy city, lots of government types and universities, museums, etc. There was excitement, but not really the buzz I've felt in other places, mostly it just made the highway even more stupidly packed.
Maybe once they move, they can also rebuild the fan base to pull in more of the city dwellers.
bert
Registered User
The Canadian teams + Minnesota and Buffalo.
A downtown arena would be way better, the location is not good but its the entire infrastructure that sucks. no restaurants or bars walking distance, impossible to get in and out of the arena. Public transportation sucks.
I always find it interesting when Toronto or Montreal fans decide on Ottawa as a hockey market.
Sleeping on it and confusing the lack of attendance due to an insane owner with it not being hockey crazed. After Edmonton, Ottawa produces the most NHL players per capita of any city in Canada. Huge amount of minor hockey enrollment and recreational play here. Two major Jr teams here a 12 team Jr A league and an 18 team Jr B league all here.
In 2017 the city was rocking during that run. Same with when they beat Montreal and the Hamburgler run. Its not just about NHL interest. Ever since the Alfie fiasco everyone has been skeptical of the NHL team and its ownership.
A downtown arena would be way better, the location is not good but its the entire infrastructure that sucks. no restaurants or bars walking distance, impossible to get in and out of the arena. Public transportation sucks.
I always find it interesting when Toronto or Montreal fans decide on Ottawa as a hockey market.
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It’s because of the society here. People say Vancouver and the lower mainland in general is the most unfriendly place to be in Canada. People here are not nice to each other. From the road rage, frequent LGBT attacks, blatant segregation of all ethnic groups from one another, the list goes on. Not just me, but this also coming from tourists and various celebrities and performers. There was literally a riot last week because a prominent rapper didn’t show up and they destroyed about $6M in property damage.
As for the Canucks, we have a lot very chaotic out of town fair weather fans, and when the team does good, these same fans go insane, and will drive down 1-2 hours to watch games. You can tell they’re not from Vancouver by the way they talk, start shit with others, and the overall lack of inclusivity. And when the team hits it’s peak point and starts to fall, these same fans who only want to be there for the wins and can’t handle defeat don’t know how to act and start venting frustration on others. The 1994 and 2011 Stanley cup final riots were largely from fans out of town who didn’t even live in the downtown core, or lived anywhere near Vancouver. They were a good 1-2 hours from Vancouver. They bring this mob mentality every time they make the drive here and it rubs off on others.
They didn’t give a rats ass about trashing our city. That’s the thing with British Columbia, every city here represents a type of territorialism. It’s why people up North hate it when Vancouverites come and trash their city during their weekend trips and so forth.
The people here are atrociously self centered, abrasive, excluding, and at times, destructive.
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NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
Too bad you weren't around in 2007.
When they made the Finals, the city was on another level.
jigglysquishy
Registered User
Factually incorrect.
If it was true NYC wouldn't be losing out to midsize Canadian cities for NHL talent creation.
There's a hell of a lot more to hockey than just the NHL.
27 NHLers are from NY state.
64 NHLers are from Alberta.
Despite NY state having 4.5x the population. Alberta produces 11.4x as much NHL talent per capita.
32 are from Saskatchewan (population 1.18 million)
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- May 3, 2016
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OK I think I misunderstood the poll, I took it to mean fan interest, not interest in the game in general
Alexander the Gr8
Registered User
Ottawa has hockey interest for sure… only problem is that a good chunk of the population roots for the Leafs or the Habs instead of the Sens.
biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
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Yeah. That's the thing with Vancouver. It's a hypyer-polarized community to begin with, even outside of sports. Things are extremely volatile before you even inject sports into it. It's a factor that goes both ways though. Vancouver itself, is just an extremely expensive city that most people cannot afford to live in. It's easy to blame "out of towners" on the 2011 riots or whatever, but there's an underlying factor that just isn't talked about much. That wealth disparity between the "out of town" suburbs, and the "mostly empty" downtown core. The "out of towners" don't have a connection to the Vancouver community, because they cannot afford to live there. Despite masses of unoccupied dwelling units there. It certainly creates an uncomfortable dynamic.
It all plays significantly into "Vancouver as a Sports Town", in a negative way.
- Oct 9, 2012
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Vancouver, Calgary and....St. Paul
That's how most BC people will describe Albertans who there for vacation
I bet it’s anxiety inducing when Albertans see a BC license plate on the road hahaVancouver, Calgary and....St. Paul
That's how most BC people will describe Albertans who there for vacation
